Angels' $10 Million All-Star Linked to Needy NL-Team After Shocking Suspension

The Los Angeles Angels look to win their eighth straight game Friday night against the Miami Marlins. Following quite the rough past couple of weeks for the Halos, there was speculation their season would effectively be over by June.

However, it appears the Angels found new life with their recent hot streak, all the way up to third in the American League West division.

Closer Kenley Jansen has been listed as a potential trade candidate in recent weeks, but MLB insider Mark Feinsand seemed to reaffirm the notion that the Angels' recent success makes the front office unwilling to part ways with the veteran.

However, the Philadelphia Phillies are searching for a high-leverage arm to add to the bullpen following the suspension of Jose Alvarado.

"Perhaps the Angels would be willing to move closer Kenley Jansen, who is earning $10 million on a one-year deal," Feinsand writes. "But Los Angeles is still within 4.5 games of a Wild Card spot, making it unlikely the Angels would begin selling now."

Jansen has a 5.28 ERA with 15 strikeouts and a 1.370 WHIP across 15.1 innings pitched this season, his first with the Angels. He's allowed just one earned run and no walks in his last four appearances.

The right-hander recently spoke about how he's been able to maintain his role as a closer for so many years.

“To me, being a closer is 90% mental,” Jansen said to The Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher. “How are you going to show you can bounce back? You shut the door, shut the door, shut the door. When you have one hiccup, people want to see how you’re going to bounce back."

The Angels have certainly bounced back from a rough first couple weeks of May, and if they continue this upward trajectory, it'd be hard to imagine the Halos parting ways with their closer.